Cancellation Watch: Tracking the weekly ratings and the cancellation prospects of the science fiction and fantasy shows currently airing on broadcast and cable networks.
By John J. Joex
The latest offering from J.J. Abrams, FOX’s Alcatraz, got off to a good start Monday night as the two hour premiere pulled a healthy 3.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic and right at ten million total viewers. That’s an impressive bow for a series that looked like somewhat of a wild card coming in because of its off-center premise. That also out-performed the Fall premiere of Terra Nova in this same timeslot which pulled a 3.1 rating and just over nine million total viewers. Alcatraz looks poised to deliver the next Lost-like, genre-bending drama even though Abrams insists that it is not as arc-heavy as some would expect. But because the series does rely to some extent on a serialized format and because it veers somewhat from the typical Prime Time fare, expect to to see its numbers drop off in the weeks to come. I would say, though, that as long as this one stays north of a 2.5 rating, it should be good to go for a second season.
And speaking of Terra Nova, still no word on that show’s status even though FOX needs to make a decision soon because of the extended production time needed for its sfx. We will pass along any news we hear on the fate of the show as soon as possible.
On Sunday night, Once Upon A Time took a slide on the ratings in its ongoing Nielsen roller coaster ride of a season. It did not drop that much, though, pulling a 3.3 rating in the 18-49 demo vs. the 3.7 rating it had the prior week. And it did have some pretty serious competition from the Golden Globe awards. Expect this show to continue to fluctuate like this for the rest of the season, but as long as it stays above a 3.0 it should be okay.
I will have the full ratings results for all of this week’s shows in the regular Monday column next week.
Ratings Source: TV by the Numbers
